Wall mounted shelf structure



Sept. 18, 1951 L E; FULTON 2,568,147

WALL MOUNTED SHELF STRUCTURE Filed May 21, 1949 ATTORNEY Patented Sept.18, 1951 Stdt? UNITEDr STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,568,147 WALL MOUNTEDSHELE` STRUCTURE Louis E. Fulton, Houston, ex. Application May 2.1,1949, Serial No. 94,700

3 claims. (ol. S12-245') This invention relates to an improved .form ofshelf structure and particularly to a telephone supporting shelfattachable to a building wall or the like.

The principal Vobjects of this invention are to provide a removabletelephone shelf or support bracket which may be readily attached to abuild ing wall at any convenient location; which eliminates the need fora permanent wall receptacle commonly required in most buildings, .or ofa special stand which occupies otherwise useful floor space; which is ofrelatively simple and l0wcost construction; and-'Which is attractiveinappearance.

Other and more specific objects. and advantages of. this invention willbecomeV more readily apparentifrom the following detailed descriptionwhen read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrateone useful embodiment in accordance with this invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view locking upwardly toward the bottom of a shelf.structure in accordance with this invention, some of the parts beingbroken away for purposes of better illustration;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along line 3 3 of Fig.2;

Fig. 4 is a front-end elevational view of the shelf curved to conformwith their generally angular configuration-` Side members lf2- l2 andface plate I3 may be molded in the form of a unitary structure fromconventional thermo-setting plastic material to form a hollow shell-likebracing piece, as illustrated, having theseveral edgesand angles thereofsmoothly rounded and curved to provide an attractive appearance, asillustrated. The bracing piece will thus have an inner verticallyextending edge I4 adapted to fit snugly against a supporting Wall W, towhich the struc- 2 ture is to be attached, and an upper generallyhorizontal .edge .l5 on which platform l0 is supported. The latter ismade `somewhat wider than bracing piece Il so that when suitablycentered thereon, the side edges of the platform overhang the oppositesides of the bracing piece. A pair of flanges l B-I 5 depend from theside edges of platform l parallel to and spaced outwardly from side`members lll- 42. d A second pair of flanges l 'l-I 'l ,depend from thelower face of platform l0 and are inwardly spaced from and parallel toflanges lli-I6. Flanges I'l-l'l arepositioned on the lower face ofplatform .l E) to be in registration with the horizontal upper edges ofside members l2-l2 and are adapted to be suitably connected thereto asby gluing or by any vother suitable fastening means.A The spaces betweenadjacent anges I and Il form guide channels {f8-IB. the forward ends ofwhich are yclosed lovendpieces -I 9-4 9 extending between the forwardends ofthe adjacent flanges l and ll. The'inner ends of channels Ill-.ilare open, flanges l being made slightly Vshorter than flanges l5 whichextend to the rearward end of platform IE] and are made substantiallyflush with this end of the latter and with vertical edge i4 of thebracing piece. Extending inwardly from the inner ends of flanges 16 and`generally parallel to the inner endof platform vlll -area .pair ofdepending stop members 251-20 which extend partly across the respectivechannels lil- 48. The upper face of platform Ill is provided with anupwardly extended rim 2l which extends along the .side edges and acrossthe forward end thereof to provide ,an enclosed-.area ,of the same.general shape as platform l ll to receive a telephone `base or`otherobject which it may be desired to place thereon. Rim 2l thusserves Vas a guard to prevent the object from Vsliding olf the platform.Platform I 0, including flanges` i6 and ll, end` pieces I9, and rim 2|,is preferably .constructed ofv ther-mosetting plastic, generallyidentical to that fromwhich bracing piece H Visconstructed, and ismolded into a one'- piece :uni-tary structure, forming a `sub-assemblywhich can be connected to bracing piece Il by joining flanges il totheupper horizontal-edges of side members I2|2, as previously mentioned.The space between flanges l'I-l'l and beneath platform l'llis .designedto form a generally rectangular receptacle 22 adapted to receive acorrespondingly shaped drawer 23 which isfinsertible through the forwardend of receptacle 22 and is slidable inwardly and outwardly therefrom.The upper horizontal edges of side members I2-I 2 are laterally inwardlythickened, as at 24-24 to form fhighly utilitarian, attractive 3 railson whih drawer 23 is supported irl its sliding movement, A dependingstop member 25 extends from beneath platform l between the inner ends ofanges l1 to form an inner stop for drawer 23.

A generally U-shaped bracket, indicated generally by the numeral 26,constructed of fiat strip metal, has parallel arm members 21-21connected by a base piece 28. Bracket 26 is adapted to be connected towall W by means of screws 29 or other suitable fastening means, whichextend through suitable holes in base piece 28 into the wall. Thecorners formed by the juncture of arm members 21 with base piece 28 areinwardly indented to form recesses 30--30 for reception of stop members2li- 20, as will be described hereinafter. The medial portions of theend of platform l0 and the lower end of bracing piece Il are providedwith vertically aligned notches 3| and 32, respectively, in which awire, such as a telephone cord. may be enclosed when the structure isplaced against wall W.

To mount the structure on wall W, bracket 26 is fastened thereto bydriving screws 29 through `base piece 28, arms 21 thus being caused toextend outwardly from wall W. The shelf structure, in fully assembledform, will then be installed on bracket 26 by inserting the extendedends of arms 21 into the open inner ends of guide channels I8. In thisstage of mounting the shelf structure will be slightly elevated relativeto arms 21, so that stops 20 will be slightly above the upper edges ofarms 21, as illustrated in Fig. 5. It will be understood that thevertical dimension of arms 21 will be less than the vertical dimensionof channels I8 to permit elevation of the shelf structure relative toarms 21 sufficient for accomplishing this operation. In this position,the shelf structure will be moved inwardly along arms 21 until the innerend of the structure comes up against wall W and stops 20 are invertical registration with recesses 30. Thereupon the shelf structurewill be allowed to drop down suciently to cause stops 20 to enterrecesses 30, thereby locking the shelf structure to the bracket. Theplatform will now rest firmly on the upper edge of bracket 2E and willbe locked against forward movement relative thereto, while bracing pieceIl will be in firm contact with the face of wall W and by its angularconstruction and connection to platform ID, will serve to effectivelybrace the latter for the support -of any object which may be placedthereon.

To remove the shelf structure, it is only necessary to again raise theshelf structure relative to bracket 26 to allow stops 20 to clearrecesses 30. The structure may then be drawn forwardly off of arms 21.Bracket 26 may now be removed "from the wall and transferred to anotherlocation whereupon the shelf structure may be again installed thereon inthe manner described.

It will be seen that in accordance with this invention a shelf structureis provided which is in appearance. which is readily movable from placeto place and may be installed at any convenient location in a residenceor oiiice. While designed particularly for use as a telephone stand, itwill, of course, serve to support other objects from a room wall.

It win be understood that various modifietions and changes may be madein the details of the illustrative embodiment within the spirit of thisinvention but without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A shelf structure of the class described, comprising, a platformportion, an angular bracing piece for bracing the platform from asupporting wall, a pair of laterally spaced channels formed beneath saidplatform portion and extending longitudinally adjacent each side thereofand opening to the rear of said platform portion, a pair of stop membersdepending from the rearward end of said platform portion into saidchannels, and a generally U-shaped bracket having its arms spaced forinsertion into said channels and its base portion attachable to saidsupporting wall, said arms having inwardly extending recesses thereinfor reception of said stop members to lock said structure to saidbracket.

2. A shelf structure of the class described, comprising, a platformportion, an angular bracing piece for bracing said platform portion froma supporting wall, pairs of spaced parallel flanges depending from saidplatform portion and extending longitudinally along each side thereof toform a pair of longitudinal channels opening to the rear of saidplatform portion, a pair of stop members depending from the rearward endof said platform portion into said channels, and a generally U-shapedbracket having its arms spaced for insertion into said channels and itsbase portion attachable to said supporting wall, said arms havinginwardly extending recesses therein for reception of said stop membersto lock said structure to said bracket.

3. A shelf structure of the class described, comprising, a platformportion, an angular bracing piece for bracing said platform portion froma supporting wall, pairs of spaced parallel anges depending from saidplatform portion and extending longitudinally along each side thereof toform a pair of longitudinal channels opening to the rear of saidplatform portion, said pairs of flanges being spaced apart to form areceptacle opening forwardly beneath said platform portion, a pair ofstop members depending from the rearward end of said platform portioninto said channels, a generally U-shaped bracket having its arms spacedfor insertion into said channels and its base portion attachable to saidsupporting wall, said arms having inwardly extending recesses thereinfor reception of said stop mem'- bers to lock said structure to saidbracket, and a drawer slidably disposed in said receptacle for slidablemovement inwardly and outwardly thereof.

LOUIS E. FULTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 944,212 Rogers Dec. 21, 19092,080,038 Frederickson May 11, 1937 2,258,057 Johnson Oct. '1, 1941

